Stopped for dinner on Sunday on our way home. The BEST Mexican food we have ever had!

Good food, tacos are always good and are much better priced than others in town. My low rating is in reference to the service of the restaurant. I have been there close to a dozen times with parties ranging from 2-10 people and from lunch time to dinner time. Service is always very slow, servers never really seem to know what's they are doing or have much experience with people. Expect to stand at the front for at least 10 minutes before being noticed. And then another 30 to get food. read more

my friends a I rode our motorcycles over to dade city this morning and ate breakfast/lunch the food was awesome I noticed the caldo de res after we had eaten it looked so good I got an order to go a.nd it was wonderful!!!! they knew I was on my motorcycle so they packed it xtra tight thanks for taking care of me. we will be back on the next road trip read more

I have been coming to Del Carmen for many years. I felt it was one of the most authentic Mexican restaurants in the Tampa Bay area. Recently, i think management changed hands or changed direction because the food has taken a real dive. The menu has changed, and although there has been an attempt to retain the original authentic flavor it has obviously been watered down for non Mexican palates. Furthermore, the execution of the dishes has failed somewhat as well. I was there last night. The refried beans, the marker of a good Mexican restaurant, were bland and needed salt. I saw people salting their food as i walked out after dinner. My dish of Enchiladas poblanas was not the Enchiladas poblanas i have ordered a million times here. The sauce was strangely flavored with just some heat. It was not the usual mole negro but mole colorado, which i wouldn't have minded if the taste was there. The table salsa was good but it had no real character. Perhaps, this is a boon to the gringo population that was lining up to sit down. There was a live Mariachi band. The owner is successfully bringing in the clientele so i doubt my argument will reach anyones ears. I saw an ad on the window looking for bi lingual servers, don't worry, you wont need them. I was quite disappointed. I will try once more on a during the week and i will update my review then. Please bring back the "moms" that were cooking in the back because whoever is in there now, needs lessons. read more

went here because of good reviews, however we ordered chicken fajitas and nachos....horrible when we got home could not even eat chicken was dry and old veggies over cooked no flavor beans was like oatmeal and rice was old and dry.... never again......bad read more

Del Carmen's is a great Mexican restaurant in Dade City. Wait til you try their homemade corn chips in their homemade salsa, it is the best and served free with your meal. The menu is great, it's the real thing. Prices are low and they also have a grocery attached to buy many delicious Mexican foods. I have been eating here for about 2 years off and on, I am never disappointed. read more

First good sign, the chips are made fresh from fantastic tortillas from their tortilleria  with a great salsa casera (just wish there was a tad more in the bowl). We cant remember having any house made chips since we moved down here except for that outrageously expensive trendy Katrinas in Soho.  We shared a shrimp ceviche tostada and I could have eaten 10 of them, they were so perfect, exactly like the best restaurants in mexico. Then we had the 2 sopes dinner in order to try their rice and beans (nothing special). But the sopes were incredible - the big ones with deep sides, fluffy on the inside, crispy on the outside. Then we had our taco course with their fresh tortillas: al pastor was tasty but a bit skimpy for 2 bucks, not like our former all time favorite (before it became Robert's Fruit Market in New Port Richey), but then nothing ever is - their family recipe from Oaxaca were the best I have ever had, despite having to dodge the roaches. Del Carmen was sparkling clean, even the attached grocery. Back to tacos: crispy carnitas were exactly like I like and never get.  Barbacoa was right there with the best I have ever had.  Both the red and  green sauces were gourmet quality with very complex flavors and nice heat. We finished with a side order of chile relleno and tortillas to make 4 tacos. At first look, I thought sauce was skimpy, but it ate well as tacos -- but most of all it was delicious.  Bill was $35 without drinks, and we still aren't hungry yet. Just writing this makes me want to get right back in the car and drive the 40+ miles there again right now for their incredible sounding breakfasts. A huge bonus was the friendly, efficient, attentive service by Kiara. Now if only they would add some local craft or mexican beers on tap! read more

Worst meal of the year. After reading good recent reviews around the web I took family there for 75 bday. Chicken/ steak fajitas I had were not edible, dripping with grease, no flavor,steak all gristle, and forgot to bring the tortillas. Had to ask for tortillas twice.I've had fajitas hundreds of time in 3 countrys and never had that happen twice. My two other family members said there burrito's and chimi's were not quite as bad, still not good, very greasy and seasoning almost nonexistant and very dry. Salt/pepper hot sauce did not help.Hot sauce can fix almost anything but not this. Food was not fresh and meat was poor quality. I know the diff from real authentic mex or texmex. This was neither. Ate 2 bites and was done. The others maybe 4 bites. I dont complain much, I will eat up and not return. This was just nasty. When the server returned and asked how the food was I kept quiet, wont cause a scene on a special occasion but the birthday boy politlely told her it was not good at all. Then the excuses started, maybe we did not know real mexican cuisine. I lived there for 2 years working, wrong but said nothing. I am not amused but said nothing.Server was curt, acted offended by the honest and polite opinion of our meals. No offer of replacing or changing a bad meal. She asked if we were done and we said were sorry but we could eat what we served. The server the just walked away! She brought the full check without another word with 3 almost untouched meals on the table. No manager, no apology, no nothing.At this point I'm think complaining is not likely to help. Not wanting to cause a scene on a special occasion I paid the full bill. No tip as the server defended the food and was either to dense or poorly trained to summon managementas well as downright rude. Or maybe scared as the managment may be the problem. We left and went to A Pancho's Villa in San Antonio that is always delish, I bought the second set of meals that night and went hope full and happy. Just wanted to try something new and closer to home. A total mistake. SHAME ON DEL CARMEN!. Very sad. This is not a total rant as they have a mexican grocery with a awesome selection of authentic foods and goods that are hard to find elsewhere. This review is from a local resident who is a surviver of a usually terminal illness and is thankfull be alive and ALWAYS tries to see the good in people and be nice. I would like to think this was a isolated incident but must sincerely doubt it and felt I had to share my experience. WE WILL NEVER RETURN read more

Just left the restaurant, it took a while to get the food to the table, we order enchiladas and the Texmex fajitas, the enchiladas were cold, no cheese or sour cream for the fajitas, we ordered queso fresco and sour cream on the side and I had to get up and find the waiter to remind her of it, by the time we got it to the table we were done eating the enchiladas and the fajitas were cold, we did not want to send the food back to the kitchen, we got a to go box for the food and I didn't get my tres leches cake because I didn't wish to be in there any longer, I don't understand why the bad service because it didn't look like it was busy, I had to get up and go to the register to get our check and after the lady at the register provided me with the check I still had to wait for the waiter to come and check me out, like seriously???!!! The food was good but cold and the service wasn't the best, I hope next time the service is better and the food is hot, yes I will give it another try because it does have a lot of good reviews and I love Mexican food! read more